Madam Wang smiled, “That’s our Ninth Young Master. He rarely comes out, so it’s no wonder Third Sister-in-law doesn’t recognize him.”

In her previous life, Jin Chao had been married to the Chen family for five years, only occasionally seeing this child at banquets, but never paying him any attention.

By the time she saw Chen Xuan Yue again, he had already become the renowned Left Commander of the Commander’s Office. That was when she returned to Baoding for ancestral worship. He was surrounded by a large contingent of personal guards, his demeanor steady and sharp. That day, Chen Xuan Qing had received him, and the two brothers went into the ancestral hall to talk. Security outside was tight; she didn’t even qualify to enter the hall and could only watch from afar as Chen Xuan Lin stood outside waiting for his elder brother to emerge.

…She still remembered that year was the fifteenth year of Wanli, just two years after she had moved out of the side courtyard.

Jin Chao had overheard servants gossiping that this Ninth Young Master had originally been a simpleton, but later, after following Commander-in-Chief Zhao to Shaanxi, his condition was miraculously cured. Commander Zhao, mindful of Second Master Chen’s friendship, took special care of Chen Xuan Yue, who eventually worked his way up to Deputy Commander. Then, during the Mongolian rebellion, he took command to quell the uprising, was promoted to Left Commander, and enjoyed unlimited glory.

Madam Wang whispered, “He was born to Second Master’s chambermaid. He had a high fever as a child, after which his mind wasn’t right. He was fostered under his Second Sister-in-law’s name. Mother felt sorry for the child and once wanted to raise him herself, but he was very difficult to discipline. That would have been fine… but originally, Mother had a white jade Buddha in her chamber, not a golden one. This mischievous child broke the jade Buddha, and Mother lost any desire to continue raising him. Now, only the Second Sister-in-law occasionally looks after him. He’s been raised with a petty disposition, even wanting to eat candied chestnuts…”

She finished with a wave of her hand, “Mother has said he doesn’t need to attend the morning and evening greetings, and only occasionally comes to pay respects to Mother when there’s something. Not just Second Sister-in-law, nobody wants to see him…”

Jin Chao felt Madam Wang’s smile had deep meaning. She had only asked a simple question about the Ninth Young Master, yet Madam Wang had told her so much.

Earlier, Chen Xuan Yue had hesitated at the doorway, and someone had pushed him from behind… He wasn’t even properly dressed, and the servants attending him probably weren’t attentive. Jin Chao sighed inwardly, wondering who would have thought this person would later become a first-rank Commander.

In her previous life, if not for him and Chen Xuan Qing, the Chen family would have been devoured alive by Ye Xian long ago.

After Chen Xuan Yue withdrew, Old Madam Chen had the servants take the children out to play, keeping only a few daughters-in-law and granddaughters-in-law, to discuss the marriage of Chen Rong, the Fourth Master’s concubine-born daughter.

Chen Rong was fourteen by traditional age count, born to the Fourth Master Chen’s concubine, and it was a good time to discuss her marriage. Madam Wang smiled and said to Old Madam Chen, “I’m still looking, but Madam Zhao from Hululu Lane has passed me a message, wanting to propose a match with her nephew.”

Madam Qin asked, “Madam Zhao’s nephew? I’ve never heard of him. Is he from Madam Zhao’s sister who married into Liangxiang?”

Madam Wang nodded, “That’s right. I’m told he has already passed the provincial examination. Their family in Liangxiang has thousands of acres of farmland and is very prosperous.”

A hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Madam Qin’s mouth, “That would be a suitable match for Miss Rong.”

For the Chen family, the title of xiucai scholar wasn’t anything special, and Chen Rong was merely a concubine-born daughter, so it didn’t make much difference either way.

Old Madam Chen thought it was acceptable, “Being wealthy while still putting effort into studying is not easy. When you have time, go find Madam Zhao to come over and explain their family situation in detail.”

Madam Wang agreed, and Old Madam Chen then asked Gu Jin Chao what she thought.

How could she have any opinion? She hadn’t even heard of the situation before.

Jin Chao couldn’t say whether it was good or bad, so she could only say, “Mother is right, it’s best to get all the details.”

Old Madam Chen squeezed her hand, “Don’t be evasive. After we settle Miss Rong’s marriage, you’ll be in charge of Xuan Qing’s wedding.”

In her previous life, Chen Xuan Qing had married before even taking the imperial examination, but in this life, there had been no movement on the matter.

Jin Chao declined, “I’ve just married into the family and fear I lack the experience to handle this properly…” She didn’t want to get involved in Chen Xuan Qing’s affairs.

Old Madam Chen smiled at her, “Child, why so modest? Who is born knowing everything? Just go ahead and do it, I and your Second Sister-in-law will be overseeing it. Xuan Qing has long been engaged to the Yu family’s daughter, it won’t be that complicated…”

Madam Qin also smiled, “The Seventh Young Master is already a Tanhua scholar with a position in the Hanlin Academy. He should have someone to take care of him. Third Sister-in-law, don’t worry about not managing well. When I first married into the family, I didn’t know anything either, but Mother taught me step by step…”

After discussing more about the Yu family’s daughter and having lunch, Gu Jin Chao finally returned from Old Madam Chen’s place.

Back then, Gu Jin Chao was thinking about Yu Wan Xue.

What she thought about most was the day when Yu Wan Xue had fallen ill, and she had wanted to visit her. But she was stopped by a servant woman at Yu Wan Xue’s courtyard door. Chen Xuan Qing came to see Yu Wan Xue, glanced at her, and frowned deeply, “What are you doing here?”

She should have been lying like a corpse in a lifeless room, just waiting to die.

Gu Jin Chao was holding a box of chestnut cakes. She looked coldly at Chen Xuan Qing, not wanting to say anything.

Chen Xuan Qing ignored her. After he went in, he gave a few instructions to the servant woman, who then tightly closed the courtyard gate. Standing there with a box of chestnut cakes, she heard Chen Xuan Qing inside gently coaxing Yu Wan Xue to take medicine, the sound of a bowl falling to the ground, the exclamations of servants and maids, and Yu Wan Xue crying about something, but she couldn’t hear clearly, and even standing on tiptoe, she couldn’t see anything.

She didn’t know what Chen Xuan Qing had said to make her so angry. But Jin Chao was completely helpless, wanting to be kind to someone who had been good to her, yet unable to even deliver a box of cakes when that person was sick. That day, she listened outside for a long time before dragging her stiff feet back.

Later, she heard that the Seventh Master’s concubine was pregnant.

Even though she had been reborn, she was still full of apology toward Yu Wan Xue. Whether intentional or not, in her previous life, Yu Wan Xue’s child was lost because of her. If she had had a child to rely on, even if Chen Xuan Qing had taken concubines, she wouldn’t have suffered so much.

The person she had wronged most in her previous life was Yu Wan Xue.

She wondered if Yu Wan Xue would marry into the family, and whether without her interference, Yu Wan Xue might be happier. After all, in her previous life, Chen Xuan Qing had still loved Yu Wan Xue… She ought to help Yu Wan Xue as much as possible.

The cloak she was making for Third Master Chen already had the embroidery pattern completed. Jin Chao spread it out and was very satisfied. She told Qing Pu to bring over a stove to burn wood incense, planning to give it to him when he returned in the evening.

After Qing Pu withdrew, Gu Jin Chao began talking with Nanny Sun, “…Nanny Sun has served the Chen family for over ten years and is a senior servant. What was your role in the needlework room, and what was your monthly allowance?”

Going from a needlework room servant to the head servant of a household was truly a meteoric rise. Yet Nanny Sun’s manner showed neither trepidation nor sycophancy.

Nanny Sun answered, “This servant supervised four little maids, managing the household’s needlework. I received six silver tael pieces monthly, which was sufficient for expenses.”

Gu Jin Chao asked her more about the Chen family affairs. Nanny Sun respectfully answered each question, showing a thorough understanding of the Chen family.

Besides the official salaries of Second Master Chen and Third Master Chen, the family had its businesses. However the Chen family’s assets were divided into two portions: fields, workshops, and similar properties were managed by Madam Qin, while ink shops, silk stores, and the like were managed by Fourth Master Chen. He was also a jinshi graduate but didn’t take an official position, holding only a nominal post in the Hanlin Academy. Relying on the Chen family’s influence, Fourth Master Chen’s business ventures were very successful, and the Chen family was quite wealthy.

Nanny Sun knew some details about the Chen family’s business affairs.

At this moment, a young maid reported from outside that Madam Wang was bringing Madam Jiang’s attendants to see her.

Jin Chao instructed that they meet in the front hall and asked Cai Fu to take Nanny Sun to look around Muxi Hall.

Madam Wang brought two people. One wore a short gray jacket and looked very honest; he managed the farmland in the mountains of Baoding. He knelt to greet her, stammering, “I am Wen Laowu, from Baoding.”

Madam Wang stood behind him and hurriedly said, “Wen Laowu has difficulty speaking, madam, please don’t mind, but his farming skills are good.”

Wen Laowu bowed low without daring to speak, truly an honest man.

The other wore a silk tunic, had a slightly plump and dark face, and knelt with a smile, “I am Hu Cheng, my ancestral home is in Jiangsu.”

Jin Chao asked a few more questions. Wen Laowu mostly didn’t dare to answer, while Hu Cheng was glib but took forever to get to the point.

Gu Jin Chao set her teacup on the table and slowly asked Madam Wang, “Wasn’t it said there were three attendants in the dowry? Where is the other one?”

Madam Wang replied, “There is also Xu Xing, who helped the former madam manage the shops. Recently, business has been too busy, and he couldn’t get away. He specifically sent word that he would come once the spice shop affairs were in order.”

Jin Chao smiled faintly without speaking.

Hu Cheng anxiously raised his head to glance at Madam Wang, who was also feeling uneasy, “You know, the daily turnover at the larger spice shops is substantial, and he can’t easily leave. I’ve already sent someone to urge him.”

Jin Chao lowered her eyes, “Is Madam Wang trying to fool me? If a shop manager does everything every day, why hire subordinates? If he needs to keep an eye on things daily, what’s the point of being a manager?” Jin Chao raised her head, staring at Madam Wang with a smile, “If something happened to him one day, wouldn’t the shop collapse?”

Seeing her young age, Madam Wang still wouldn’t miss a chance to manipulate her.

Did she think she was easy to deceive? It was just three spice shops with a monthly income of only a hundred taels of silver. Luo Yongping and Cao Ziheng now managed her property worth over ten thousand taels, and they had to report to her monthly and submit accounts. Whenever she needed to find Luo Yongping, he wouldn’t dare say he was even a bit busy. Now, an attendant managing just three spice shops was telling her he had no time to see her—wasn’t this making a fool of her?

Madam Wang forced a smile, “Madam, you speak too seriously. You don’t understand the spice shop business; it’s complicated.”

Gu Jin Chao had never displayed a stern face before these servants; hearing this, her smile disappeared, “If I don’t understand, then Madam Wang should explain it clearly. What exactly is he busy with? The spice shops purchase goods in small batches throughout the year, retail sales are watched by shop assistants, and accounts are naturally managed by accountants. If he’s still busy, then I don’t understand. Madam Wang, go tell him to come see me tomorrow. If he doesn’t come, I’ll go see him myself.”

Madam Wang couldn’t help but feel her palms sweat. This new madam might be young, but she spoke with authority. How did she know about shop affairs?